Discussion Prompts
INTRODUCTION & ORIENTATION (Wk 1)
- Introductions I'm hoping we will all get to know one another quite well over the next few weeks and come away from the experience feeling as though we've gained a community of colleagues with a common interest. To get us moving in that direction, tell us a little about yourself--and highlight your interest in the topic. What made you want to register for this professional development opportunity?
Secondly, let's end our post with two truths & a lie--try to pick things that will really stump your colleagues. Over the next week or so, try to guess each other's lies. - Manifesto Discussion (article link) Discuss your thoughts about the article. Is there anything you particularly agree or disagree strongly with?
- What was most surprising and/or affirming to you as you read through your section of the UDL document? In your own words, discuss the way you see UDL and ADA as similar and/or different? Why is it important as an instructor to keep these distinctions in mind?
Activity Descriptions
Prior to f2f sessions
SECRET OBJECT WARM UP (Wk 1)
Participants were instructed to bring along the strangest/most unique/most asked about/etc. object sitting in their offices and put it in something non-see-through. They were to keep it a secret until class. FORMS OF REPRESENTATION (Wk 2) This activity offers faculty a student perspective of Universal Design for Learning. They engage in the activity in much the same way UDL encourages instructors to design activities for their own students. Topic: A student who felt he or she “wasn’t cut out” for school. Your task is to represent that student's emotions. Choose one of the following forms of representation. Upload your work to the Dropbox (if you draw a comic, snap a pic; If you created a musical number, record it and post the file/link or just upload your lyrics).
Activity Objectives: a.) Introduces faculty to the idea of offering choice in their curriculum. b.) Demonstrates the idea of allowing students to demonstrate their learning in forms other than traditional written assessment. . |
In-Session Activities
SECRET OBJECT ACTIVITY
FOLLOW-UP (WK 1) Once we met face-to-face, I asked everyone to place the objects in a box. Only I could see the outer-wrappings. Then I placed all the objects on a table, and we used these objects as our "warm-up." This activity also serves to set the tone for class environment. Each person chooses an object (not his or her own) from the table and takes it to their computer to being telling that object's bizarre personal history from a first-person-perspective. The twist to the assignment is that we wrote on documents using Meeting Words. After a few minutes, I asked everyone to stop where they were and share their document with the person to their right. That person was instructed to pick up where the other person left off. In other words--it became a paired writing activity. We asked for volunteers to read their final products aloud . . . and asked the owners to reveal themselves. A good deal of laughing took place, and everyone who spoke had to give their names so we could begin learning names as well. Activity Objectives: a.) Sets the tone for collaborative/safe learning environment b.) Introduces potentially unfamiliar technology (Meeting Words) c.) Warms the class up. Faculty (like students) are rushing from one thing to the next. Sometimes giving them a few minutes up front to leave their former activities behind gets them mentally ready for the course material to come FORMS OF REPRESENTATION FOLLOW UP (Wk 2) In the second week, faculty were instructed to upload their representation prior to coming to class (see "Prior to f2f Session"). Once faculty met in the face-to-face session, they were encouraged to "showcase" their representation. Objective for linking to F2F: c.) Further enriches the collaborative environment. Participants get an opportunity to praise one another's risk-taking and get a peek into hidden talents. DISCUSSION STARTERS READING FOLLOW-UP (Wk2) Participants have already discussed the key differences between UDL and ADA compliance online. Therefore, in-class, we do not have to spend time discussing the "what" so much as the "why?" In this week's reading assignments, participants were given the option of choosing just one principle of UDL to focus on. The full document is quite large, and participants will walk away having engaged more directly with the other principles through this activity with their colleagues during our f2f time. Discussion Starters Description 1. Select a particularly interesting or provocative passage from the UDL material you chose to focus on. Mark it somehow so you can refer back to it quickly. a. Take a minute to mentally summarize the author’s meaning. b. Think of 1-2 connections to other texts or class discussions. c. Think of 1-2 related discussion questions that you would like to pose to your colleagues. 2. Once you’re in your group, you act as the spokesperson for your chosen section of the document. Remember that not everyone in your group may have read the same material. a. Briefly summarize your passage for the others. b. Share your thoughts on why you found that one interesting/how you connect it to other texts or discussions. c. Pose your question(s). d. Everyone takes a turn following this process. Activity Objectives: a.) Give participants a model for effective in-class, small-group discussions. b.) Allow participants to act as "authorities" on some aspect of the content covered. This promotes accountability and further helps participants soak in what they believe about the topic. |